Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Thousands are dying of Ebola in
Africa. I had posted on a Spanish nurse
being quarantined and Spaniards protesting for a dog ….. the demonstrators clashed with Police authorities
too……… Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur,
sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful
sovereignty of Great Britain- that is the name of the dog too. The dog belonged to
Spanish nurse Teresa Romeros, who was apprehended to have contracted Ebola.
Officials felt that there was the
possibility that the dog could spread the virus but social media and on
road campaign called 'SalvemosAExcalibur' – Spanish for 'Let's save
Excalibur' spread. Madrid regional government had to obtain a court order to
euthanize the dog, saying 'available scientific information' cannot rule out
the possibility that Excalibur could spread the virus.

Amidst
news that 100-strong army of British military medics will set up Ebola hospital
in Sierra Leone to treat victims, the dog Excalibur became
the focus of animal lovers around the world with hundreds flooding
social media with adorable pictures of their pets as part of an international
campaign to save the dog. Twitter was awash with photographs of dogs, cats and
birds which have been posted alongside the hashtag 'SalvemosAExcalibur'. Eventually,
Health authorities of Spain went ahead and put down mixed-breed,
Excalibur.

Now there is news that
the Spanish nurse, Teresa Romero, who survived Ebola is going to demand £120,000 compensation from the
government for putting down her dog Excalibur. Ms Teresa Romero, 44, spent a
month in isolation after becoming the first person outside Africa to contract
the disease while she was caring for a missionary. She is quoted as saying that
the worst part of her ordeal was learning her mixed breed dog had been put
down, claiming 'he was not given a chance'.

Teresa Romero, 44, spent a
month in isolation after becoming the first person outside Africa to contract Ebola.
Lawyers for Mrs Romero say the decision to put the animal down last month as
she battled the killer disease was 'improvised and taken against medical
advice'. Health chiefs in Madrid obtained a court order to sacrifice Excalibur
despite an online petition to save it signed by more than 300,000 people. Daily Mail reports that apart from demanding
compensation for her dog through the courts, the nurse is also planning to sue
Madrid health chief Javier Rodriguez for defamation.

There were some reports that
While Teresa was battling to save her life, she was accused of hiding information from the doctors who
treated her before she was admitted to hospital. It was also stated that she could have
contracted the Ebola virus by not following protocol. Mrs Romero caught Ebola
after treating Spanish missionary Manuel Garcia Viejo, 69, who died on
September 25 after being infected with Ebola while he treated patients in
Sierra Leone. Ms Romero's husband Javierhas also questioned the decision to put the animal down saying he was
not to blame 'for anything'.Another
Spanish priest, 75-year-old Miguel Pajares, had died in Madrid in August after
being flown back from missionary work in Liberia.

The nurse was quarantined
along with 14 other people who had come into contact with her for 21 days - the
incubation period for the disease - though all have now been cleared. The protesters claim that Excalibur was put
down without testing while in US, a dog
belonging to a nurse infected with Ebola was quarantined and tested negative,
before being released. So Ms Teresa
Romero is back – and might fight for
compensation for the dog.